Article Spotlight 3.1.10

Politics:
Doctors tell Barack Obama to Quit Smoking: Guardian
Barack Obama is still struggling to kick smoking, according to his first medical examination since becoming president. Obama is sensitive about his cigarette habit and tetchy with reporters who raise it. But after his 90-minute medical at the Navy hospital outside Washington yesterday morning, his doctors confirmed he had not yet managed to conquer the habit and suggested he "continue smoking cessation efforts".

Pelosi's Brutal Reality Check: Politco
Asked this weekend to grade her performance as speaker, Nancy Pelosi gave herself an “A for effort.” But Pelosi knows that the real test is still to come. Pelosi is inarguably one of the strongest speakers in modern history — an authoritarian figure in an era of centralized power in the House. But the coming months are a make-or-break period for her, a brutal reality check of her ability to manage all aspects of her job — consensus-building, agenda-setting, vote-counting, fundraising and campaigning.

Pelosi: GOP has had its day; confident Dems can pull together on Health Bill: The Hill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that Republicans have left their mark on the healthcare bill and should accept that the bill will go forward. "They've had plenty of opportunity to make their voices heard," she said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday morning. "Bipartisanship is a two-way street. A bill can be bipartisan without bipartisan votes. Republicans have left their imprint."

Democrats' Obama bounce in California disappearing: AP
Hancock's frustration is evident throughout the nation's most populous state. Just a year ago, the Democratic Party looked at California as a base for adding to its majorities in Congress. Now, it could be a the place where it loses them.

Late Night GOP Wars: Letterman Pits Romney Against Leno's Palin: Deadline.com
Jay Leno made news when he announced that Sarah Palin will be among his high-profile guests when he returns to The Tonight Show next week. Now David Letterman's lineup for next week pits Mitt Romney against Sarah Palin on Tuesday night -- and the ratings may well provide clues on which probable GOP presidential contender may be most popular.

Supreme Court scrutinizes state, local gun control: MyWay
Gun control advocates think, if not pray, they can win by losing when the Supreme Court decides whether the constitutional right to possess guns serves as a check on state and local regulation of firearms. The justices will be deciding whether the Second Amendment - like much of the rest of the Bill of Rights - applies to states as well as the federal government. It's widely believed they will say it does.

Debra Medina, New Star of America's Right, Firing up TX Gov Race: Guardian
...Until Debra Medina, that is. When Medina breezed into Lytle's community hall the locals found themselves confronted with a Texan version of Sarah Palin. She wore a sharp scarlet skirt suit, librarian-style glasses and a puffed-up hairdo. More than 60 Lytle residents had gathered to meet her, a hefty turnout on a weekday at 11am for a Republican primary election in the race to be Texas governor.

Farrakhan predicts 'white right' trouble for Obama: AP
Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, boasting his divine stature, on Sunday predicted trouble ahead for President Barack Obama and urged him to do more to improve the lives of blacks and the downtrodden. The 76-year-old leader said the "white right" was conspiring to make Obama a one-term president, and pointed to his stalled efforts to introduce health care legislation as proof. He said those opponents and lobbyists were trapping him into a future war with Iran that could lead to mass destruction.

Economy:
American Reliance on Government at All Time High: Washington Times
The so-called "Great Recession" has left Americans depending on the government dole like never before. Without record levels of welfare, unemployment and other government benefits as well as tax cuts last year, the income of U.S. households would have plunged by an astonishing $723 billion — more than four times the record $167 billion drop reported last month by the Commerce Department.

California is a greater risk than Greece, warns JP Morgan chief: Telegraph
Mr Dimon told investors at the Wall Street bank's annual meeting that "there could be contagion" if a state the size of California, the biggest of the United States, had problems making debt repayments. "Greece itself would not be an issue for this company, nor would any other country," said Mr Dimon. "We don't really foresee the European Union coming apart." The senior banker said that JP Morgan Chase and other US rivals are largely immune from the European debt crisis, as the risks have largely been hedged.

Foreign Affairs:
Putin: Russia to build new strategic bomber: Breitbart
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia will build a new strategic bomber, a move that comes as the nation tries to upgrade its aging military arsenal. Putin said in televised remarks that work on the bomber must follow the development of a prospective stealth fighter, which made its maiden flight in January and was hailed by the government as a big step in military modernization efforts.


Other:
Some Iraq, Afgan War Vets Criticize movie 'Hurt Locker' as Inaccurate: Washington Post
Time magazine called "The Hurt Locker" "a near-perfect war film," but Ryan Gallucci, an Iraq war veteran, had to turn the movie off three times, he says, "or else I would have thrown my remote through the television."

Survey: 26% of Americans get news via phones: Breitbart
Long Island Bar Fires Pregnant Bartender: ABC

Some of the Better Cartoons from The End of Last Week

Courtesy of Townhalls.com

Pelosi Chokes Up Warning Against Political "Violence": UPDATED

What she says:
“I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw … I saw this myself in the late '70s in San Francisco. This kind of rhetoric is just, is really frightening and it created a climate in which we, violence took place and … I wish that we would all, again, curb our enthusiasm in some of the statements that are made.”- Pelosi

What she means:
I'm concerned that all this information is going to affect how much power I have, so why don't you all calm down and focus your energy on drinking the Kool Aid...

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UPDATE

Republican Denounce Pelosi for Warning Against 'Incitement'
By Paul Kane

The House Republicans' top campaign chief strongly denounced Speaker Nancy Pelosi's comments that appeared to question whether today's angry conservative protests were similar to anti-gay rallies in the late 1970s that preceded the assassination of two San Francisco political leaders.

Rep. Pete Sessions (Texas), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Pelosi crossed the line when she related the rhetoric of anti-gay protesters in San Francisco in 1978 -- the year Harvey Milk, the first openly gay member of the city's board of supervisors, and his political ally, Mayor George Moscone, were killed by former supervisor Dan White -- to that of contemporary conservatives while answering a question about the protests against President Obama's health-care proposals.

"The Speaker is now likening genuine opposition to assassination. Such insulting rhetoric not only undermines the credibility of her office, but it underscores the desperate attempt by her party to divert attention away from a failing agenda," Sessions said in a statement. "During one of the most important policy debates of our time, the American people have been completely abandoned by those elected representatives under her control. Voters are justifiably frustrated with Washington, and the Speaker's verbal assault on voters accomplishes nothing other than furthering her reputation for being wildly out of touch with the American people."

Polls, the Clean Informative Type

No surprise that the public is optioning Out of Obamacare. Obama's Health Care Plan is meeting stiff Public opposition.

• Rasmussen reports that opposition has reached a new high of 55%.
• 42% Support the plan
• After Obama's speech the numbers of supporters jumped to 51% but fell back to the same numbers seen during August.
• 74% of Dems now support plan.
• 80% of Republicans oppose.
• 67% of Independents oppose.
• Only 23% strongly favor in comparison with 44% that strongly oppose.
  

• 12% Say Most Opponents of Obama Health Care Plan are Racist:
  This is so ridiculous to me! There is no logic to it and 12% is STILL too high for such an uninformed, unrealistic accusation!
  

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Congressional Democrats are taking a beating in the polls:

• Nancy Pelosi has just a 34% Favorable Rating and a 57% Unfavorable Rating.
  

• Harry Reid has just a 27% Favorable Rating and a 49% Unfavorable Rating.
  

• Harry Reid faces trouble in the 2010 Nevada race as he trails both Republican front runners. GOP likely candidate Lowden was up by 10 percentage points, 50% to 40%. GOP hopeful, Tarkanian also beats Reid by seven points, 50% to 43%.

• The Generic Congressional Approval Polls from Aug 13 show Dems Favorable Rating at 40% and GOP at 41%, this is an improvement from the last poll which had that Dems at 37% and GOP at 44%. Note: This was after Obama's Address to Congress.
  

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Presidential Daily Tracking Poll:

• 32% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve Obama's performance
• 38% Strongly Disapprove
  
• Presidential Approval Index rating of -6.
• Trends
• This is acutally an improvement from the end of August. His best numbers came in on the 14th with -3, but the high from his Address to Congress is starting to wean again.

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Are we headed in the right or wrong direction?

• 33% of likely voters believe the United States is heading in the right direction
• 63% of likely voters believe the United States is heading in the wrong direction
• Down just one point from last week and is the lowest level found since late July.

Information/Critique of Obama's Speech to Joint Congres

Most of this came from the GOP Fact Check! So go ahead to the site to see more comments about the speech:

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• A checklist for Obama's speech...things to think about and watch courtesy of Keith Hennessy.com , topics include:
  Deadline, 'Must' and its variants, Any new number, public option language and Medical liability/malpractice/tort reform
  He asks questions like:
  Does he think the problem is substance or communication?
  How does he characterize the opposition?
  What did he learn from the August town halls?
  Does he explicitly reject bills developed in July to give nervous Dems cover?
  What is the priority: helping the insured of insuring the uninsured?

• Obama says his stimulus has "brought the economy back from the brink." Interesting ... because Congressional Democratic leaders that attacked job GROWTH under President Bush are now declaring economic victory despite job LOSSES under President Obama. Click here for more information.

• Obama says the "health care problem is the deficit problem".
  CBO Director Says Plans For Government-Run Health Care Would Worsen Budget
  “President Obama’s plan to expand health coverage to the uninsured is likely to dig the nation deeper into debt ... ‘Without meaningful reforms, the substantial costs of many current proposals . . . would be much more likely to worsen the long-run budget outlook than to improve it,’ he said. ...” ("Obama's Health Plan Needs Spending Controls Spending Control" CBO says, Washington Post, 6/17/09)

• Obama mentions single payer...
  Speaker Pelosi Has Pledged a Floor Vote on Single Payer (7/31/09)
  Dem Congresswoman Told Supporters Public Option Will Lead to Single-Payer System (4/18/09)

• Obama says we need to create more competition .... Republicans have plans to do exactly that ...Republican Plan Will Allow Americans To Shop For Insurance Across State Lines, Creating More Competitive Insurance Market and Reducing Premiums. 7/30/09
  

• The plan he is "introducing" sounds kinda familiar don't you think?? Maybe because he said on August 11, 2009:
  

  "Under the reform we're proposing, insurance companies will be prohibited from denying coverage because of a person's medical history."(President Barack Obama, Remarks In Health Insurance Reform Town Hall, Portsmouth, NH, 8/11/09)

• Despite Obama claiming once again that a public option will increase competition the facts prove something else
  Government-Run Health Care Will Crowd Out Private Competitors
  “But the federal government isn’t competition. It is the health care equivalent of Bigfoot, with so many Americans on its rolls that it dictates prices for doctors, drugs, and other benefits. It sets low prices, to be sure, lower than many insurers are able to match. But that just means those doctors and hospitals recoup the losses by shifting costs onto those with private insurance -- amounting to an estimated $89 billion a year, one insurance exec told a Senate committee a few months ago. A new public option may start small. But it could easily crowd out private plans depending on how premiums, benefits and subsidies are structured.” (Editorial, “Hope and Experience" The Chicago Tribune, 6/16/09)

• Public Plan “Cannot Operate On A Level Playing Field” Because It Has Unfair Advantage.
  “A public plan, particularly combined with the impact of Medicare, Medicaid, and other public plans, cannot operate on a level playing field and compete fairly if it acts as both a payer and a regulator. The public plan’s unfair competitive position, both by its size and regulatory authority, will merely shift additional costs to the private sector and employees covered by private plans.”(National Coalition on Benefits, Letter To Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell and Representatives Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner, 6/9/09)

• Obama: Public option will not impact already-insured Americans.
  Public Option Will Likely Result In 88 Million Americans Losing Their Current, Employer-Based Coverage.
  “Under current law, there will be about 158.1 million people who are covered under an employer plan as workers, dependents or early retirees in 2011. If the act were fully implemented in that year, about 88.1 million workers would shift from private employer insurance to the public plan.” (John Shelis, Vice President, Lewin Group, Analysis of the July 15 draft of the American Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, 7/23/09)
  

• President Obama claims that a majority of Americans support a public option.
  Poll: 52% Disapprove Of Obama’s Handling Of Health Care, Up 9 Points Since July.
  “An Associated Press-GfK poll says that public disapproval of President Barack Obama’s handling of health care has jumped to 52 percent. … The grade people give Obama on health care has also worsened since July, when just 43 percent disapproved of his work on the issue.” ("Obama Disapproval On Health Care up to 52%, 9/9/09)
  

• Obama claimed no government bureaucrat
  Congressional Democrats Want New Health Insurance Czar That Would Dictate What Treatments Would Be Funded
  “A qualified health benefits plan shall meet a medical loss ratio as defined by the Commissioner. For any plan year in which the qualified health benefits plan does not meet such medical loss ratio, QHBP offering entity shall provide in a manner specified by the Commissioner for rebates to enrollees of payment sufficient to meet such loss ratio ... The Commissioner shall build on the definition and methodology developed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the amendments made by section 161 for determining how to calculate the medical loss ratio. Such methodology shall be set at the highest level medical loss ratio possible that is designed to ensure adequate participation by QHBP offering entities, competition in the health insurance market in and out of the Health Insurance Exchange, and value for consumers so that their premiums are used for services” (H.R. 3200, "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009,"
  

• Obama once again promises a deficit-neutral health care bill.
  Current Version Of Obama’s Government-Run Health Care Experiment Would Add $239 Billion Deficit In Ten Years. “According to CBO’s and JCT’s assessment, enacting H.R. 3200 would result in a net increase in the federal budget deficit of $239 billion over the 2010-2019 period.” (Preliminary Analysis of the House Democrats' Health Reform Proposal, CBO Director's Blog, 7/18/09)
  

• President Obama wants to get rid of waste and fraud to pay for part of his government-run health care experiment.
  CBO Concluded House Dems’ Bill Contains No Savings From Elimination Or Reduction Of Waste, Fraud, And Abuse.
  (Page 15, 17, CBO Director, Letter to Rep. Charles Rangel, 7/17/09)
  
  
• @DonSeymour notes on Twitter: President compared government-run plan to "public colleges & universities," which his Education Secretary just knocked for "skyrocketing" costs

• Obama just mentioned a "panel" that would ration care? I thought that was a radical right wing lie!
  IMAC Would Give Medicare Increased Ability To Deny Treatments.
  “President Obama has proposed a new body that would enhance Medicare’s ability to deny care to the elderly and disabled based on government bureaucrats’ arbitrary valuations of those patients’ lives. It is right there in the legislation now before Congress, and it is called the Independent Medicare Advisory Council.” (Cannon, Op-Ed, "Sorry Folks, Sarah Palin is (Partly) Right," The Detroit Free-Press, 8/19/09)

• Obama: This will in no way add to deficit, even though it will cost 9 billion
  $500 billion+ cuts to Medicare to pay for government-run health care experiment will make seniors "the net losers"
  According to the Washington Post...House Will Trim $563 Billion From Medicare.“From the raw numbers, it appears seniors are the net losers under bills approved by three House committees ... The legislation trims $563 billion out of Medicare’s growth rate over the next 10 years ...” (Connolly, "Seniors Remain Wary of Health-Care Reform," The Washington Post, 8/9/09)

• House Dems’ Plan Job-Killing Tax Increases On Small Businesses To Pay For Reform.
  The Small Business Surtax
  “This [surtax] would hit job creators especially hard because more than six of every 10 who earn that much are small business owners, operators or investors, according to a 2007 Treasury study... America’s successful small businesses would pay higher tax rates than the Fortune 500, and for that matter than most companies around the world ... “ (Editorial, “The Small Business Surtax,” Wall Street Journal, 7/14/09) "

• Obama 'wants pilot programs' for tort reform.Doesn't match his voting record while he was in the Senate
  Sen. Obama Voted To Filibuster A Bill That Would Cap Damages In Medical Liability Lawsuits Brought Against OBGYNs. (S. 23, CQ Vote #116, Motion Rejected 49-44: R 49-3; D 0-41; I 0-0, 5/8/06, Obama Voted Nay)
  Sen. Obama Did Not Vote (Marked Announced Against) On A Filibuster To A Bill That Would Cap Damages In Medical Liability Lawsuits. (S. 22, CQ Vote #115, Motion Rejected 48-42: R 48-3; D 0-39; I 0-0, 5/8/06, Obama Not Voting (Announced Against)

• Obama wants to "seek common ground"
  GOP Hasn’t Been Invited To The White House To Discuss Health Care Since The End Of April
  “Boehner told reporters that the president has not invited House GOP leaders to the White House for meetings on healthcare reform since the end of April. Earlier this year, GOP leaders sent a letter to the president in May stating that they would like to work with the administration to find “common ground” on healthcare reform. But the administration responded with a tersely worded letter indicating that they had healthcare reform under control.” (Molly Hooper, “Boehner: GOP Leaders Haven’t Met Obama For Health Talks Since April,” The Hill's "Briefing Room", 9/9/09)

• Interesting catch from our good friends in Senate GOP Leader McConnell's office:
  17 million fewer uninsured -- in a month??
  Great catch by Don Stewart/Josh Holmes in Mitch McConnell's office
  "There are now more than thirty million American citizens who cannot get coverage.” Obama 9/9/09
  “We've got 46-47 million people without health insurance in our country.” Obama, Guadalajara, Mexico, 8/10/09

• Obama attacks the status quo while also promoting the status quo
  Obama Attacking Status Quo While Embracing It.
  “One of the bewildering ironies of the health-care debate is that President Obama claims to be attacking the status quo when he’s actually embracing it. Ever since Congress created Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, health politics has followed a simple logic: Expand benefits and talk about controlling costs. That’s the status quo, and Obama faithfully adheres to it. While denouncing skyrocketing health spending, he would increase it by extending government health insurance to millions more Americans.” (Robert Samuelson, Op-Ed, "Championing The Status Quo", The Washington Post, 8/10/09)
  

• DNC ad falsely accuses Republicans of voting "to abolish Medicare"
  Check out this FactCheck.org article calling the DNC out: http://www.factcheck.org/2009/09/senior-scare-yet-again/

• President Obama doesn't like folks who call each other un-American
  'Un-American' attacks can't derail health care debate
  Didn't the person right behind him say something similar? He has called Republicans "liars" twice this week. Is that the acrimony he's referring to?

• There are 14 Republican Doctors in the House and Senate and all oppose Obama's plan. They want real reforms, as Rep. Boustany will explains, not a government takeover. When 14 out of 14 doctors agree, it's worth listening...

For Some Laughs...

.
Some lovely acronyms that my mother and I came up with while preparing lunch.

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ACORN
Another Communist Organization Ruining the Nation

AARP
Anti-American Radical Posse

SEIU
Shafting Every Individual Underhandedly

DEMS
Distributing Everyone's Money Stupidly

AFL-CIO
Another Faction Leading Carelessly Into Obamacare

OBAMA
One Bad Administrator Mishandling America

PELOSI
Please Everyone Lets Oust the Speaker Immediately

REID
Repulsing Even Idealistic Democrats

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GOP
Glided Over Purposely

PALIN
Press Attacks Long Into Night

Pelosi Contradicts Herself, suprise suprise!

Do NOT read if you can't handle politically incorrect jokes!!!

A very liberal friend of my mothers sent me this joke. So seeing that it was brought to my attention by a liberal I feel like I can share it with everyone.

THIS IS A JOKE!!

A driver is stuck in a traffic jam going into downtown Chicago .

Nothing is moving north or south. Suddenly a man knocks on his window.

The driver rolls down his window and asks, 'What happened, what's the hold up?'

'Terrorists have kidnapped Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Nancy Pelosi, Rosie O'Donnell, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. They are asking for a $100 Million ransom. Otherwise, they are going to douse them with gasoline and set them on fire. We are going from car to car, taking up a collection.'

The driver asks, 'On average, how much is everyone giving?'

“About a gallon.”

Fox Flashback: Aug 12th (Hannity)

In Houston, TX, Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D - TX) took the Townhall Meeting Disrespect to whole new level by taking a cell phone call while a cancer survivor was talking and asking her question.





Michelle Malkin Guest

• Congresswoman claims that she called the Health care hot line to get answers for her constituents. Seems like she came to the meetings very prepared.
• As an explanation she said that in Congress you have to multi-task
• She used her phone while two other people were asking her questions.
  

Why aren't we hearing real answers about the important questions about keeping health care, end of life conversation, privacy etc.- Hannity

• They are a distraction from the emotionalism and anecdotes with which Obama is selling Obamacare. the people that ask the questions are being mocked and treated as joke. There is now that questioning starting to arise even in other media and this is why they didn't want to have this long recess. The longer people have to understand the more in trouble they will be.

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Apparently Obama compared the Post Office and Fedex/UPS yesterday. Basically he stated that the Fedex/UPS is doing well in this economic time btu the Post Office is suffering. So what he basically said was the Medicare/Medicaid is suffering because of Public Insurance.

Really?

So the solution to that is what?

Get rid of the private healthca...I mean private mailing options.

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Hannity featured a woman who spoke out at a town hall meeting in Englewood, NJ with Congressman Steve Rothman. Diane Thurber-Wamsley talked about a very important issue in the health care bill, government funded abortions. (if anyone can find her video please let me know!)

See most people are saying that abortions aren't even in the Health Care bill....but that is the problem! Not too long ago some 19 House Democrats who are actually pro-life (Murtha of PA included) sent Pelosi a letter detailing some very imporant facts/demands.

• "Without an explicit exclusion, abortion could be included in the a government subsidized heath care plan under general health care. The health care reform package produced by Congress will be landmark, and with legislation as important as this, abortion must be addressed clearly in the bill text."

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WASTE ALERT!

• Here is an idea to reducing government waste. In a New York jail 11 inmates had collected $30,000 in unemployment benefits and were slated to receive another $18,000.
  

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EXTREME ALERT!!

"Climate Change will intensify droughts, floods and other natural disaster. Water shortages will affect hundresd of millions of people...social unrest- even violence- could follow.......We have the power to change course. But we must do it now...We have just four months. Four months to secure the future of our planet."
--Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General

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Great American Panel

Guests:
Ann Coulter, Author and Fox News Contributor
Pat Caddell, Fox News Contributor (Dem)
Mercedes Viana Schlapp, Republican Strategist

Hannity: Are you happy with the DNC, name calling etc?
Pat Caddell: As a democrat we are supposed to be party of common people...The DNC is on lock stop and barrel by the white house...by coming out and calling people a mob.... its unprecedented, beyond insensitivity it was stupid!
Hannity: That's interesting that you said that, I've never heard a democrat say that. The DNC is Obama.


Pat Caddell: I think they've (democrats) decide to push the mob idea because they want to get the issue off the specifics.

Obama's Townhall Meeting: New Hampshire

I am going to take type up Obama's speech at the Town hall Meeting in Delaware. There will probably be a good amount of paraphrasing involved here but for the most part it is exactly what he said. Fox is also providing facts on the side of the screen and I will put those in italics on the right side of the screen.

.....................................................................................................................................

"We are going to pass health care reform in 2009"

"I want us to remember where we were 3 months ago. We were in the middle of the worst recession of our lifetimes. I want you to remember what things were like in Jan and Feb. We were loosing 700,000 jobs and economist feared the second great depression."

"I want you to be clear about what we did in the stimulus. 1/3 went to tax cuts that are in being refected in the paychecks of 500,000 families in NH."

FOXPOLL: 83% rate current healthcare as good or excellent
RASMUSSEN: 60% against paying higher taxes

"1/3 of it we have used to cut taxes for small business. Cut taxes on the investment that they make. Over 300 have companies in NH have qualified."

"Another 1/3 went for emergency relief for people bearing the brunt of the economy. We have extended unemployment benefits for 20,000 New Hampshire residents."

House Dem Bill: $500 Billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid
Pelosi/Hoyer: Drowning out opposing views us Un-American

We've made health insurance 65% cheaper for families that rely on COBRA while looking for work.

• He talks about helping 300 small business with tax cuts and extended unemployment for 200,000 New Hampshire residents. My question is, aren't there a LOT more than 300 small business in NH? That sounds like it would be a ridiculously small percentage fo the small business. I would also like to know if those 200,000 people who are recieveing a little more money for 2, 3, 4 months longer would prefer to have saved that money and actually created jobs with a sustainable income.

"We've provided assistance that saved the lives of 10's of thousands of jobs who provide essential services like teachers, police officers. Its prevented a lot of painful cuts in the states but also a lot of state and local tax increases"

• Too bad that the police officers that were hired with the first stimulus money will have to be let go because of lack of funds.

"The last 1/3 has gone to investments that are already putting people back to work...These are good jobs that American needs done and by the way these jobs are being done by local small business...We already saw last Friday the job picture is starting to turn. Were starting to see signs that the investments are coming back. There is no doubt this help put the brakes on the economy. But we all know that this doesn't mean we are out of the woods..."

• Yes, we are still deep deep in the woods, in a rabbit hole, tied up in the roots and slowly being starved to death by socialism.
  

"Before we had an economy that was working well for the wealthiest Americans, Wall Street Bankers, big corporation, but it wasn't working well for other. It was an economy of bubbles and busts. We can't go back to that economy! If we want to success in the 21st century we are going to need to take steps to lay a new foundation. We need to build an economy that works for everyone and not just some people."

"Health insurance reform is one of those pillars we need to build up in that new foundation. 46 million Americans don't have health insurance today. But it is just as important that we accomplish health insurance reform for those who do not have insurance. Right now we have a system that often works better for the insurance company that it does the the American people."

• I love how he is now referring to it as "Health Insurance Reform", yes Mr. President that's exactly what we need. We need to reform insurance , but I hate to break it to you but what you are proposing is health CARE reform. But it is clever to start calling it that since the conservatives have been using that to combat the current health care reform for a while now.
  

"Now let me start by setting a few things straight that I've been hearing out there about heath reform. Under the reform work proposal if you like your doctor/health care plan you can keep your plan. You will not be waiting in long lines. This is not about putting the government in charge of your health care. I don't think that anyone should be in charge of your health care plan except you and your doctor. I don't think government bureaucrats should be mettling, but I also don't think insurance company bureaucrats should be mettling."

"A recent report shows that in the past 3 year over 12 million American were discriminated again because of a preexisting condition...No one holds these company accountable for these practices."

(obam talks about how he holds this issue dear because of his mother being screwed by insurance compnaies.) "One woman testified that an insurance compnay wouldn't cover her internal organs because of an accident she had as a little girl. Think about it, that covers a lot of thing. No we will only cover your skin" *audience laughs*

Gallup: 16% say Health Care is nations top problem
Rasmussen: 53% people fear govt more than insurance COS
WH site calls euthanasia for senior a myth
WH site discusses vets medicare and small business

"Under the reform we are proposing insurance companies will not be able to deny poeple because of there history, period. They will not be able to drop your coverage if you get sick. They won't be able to water down your coverage when you need it. Your insurance company should be there for you when it counts. Not just when your paying premiums but when you actually get sick and it will be when we pass this plan."

"When we pass health insurance reform, insurance company will no longer be able to place an arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage your can receive and we will put a limit on out of pocket expense because no one in America should go broke because they get sick.
We will require insurance companies to provide routine checkups and preventive care, mammograms, colonoscopy. There is no reason we shouldn't be catching diseases like breast cancer in the front end."

"This is what reform is about. For all the chatter and the yelling and the noise you need to know this, if you don't have health insurance you will finally have quality affordable options once we pass reform. If you do have health insurance we will make sure that no insurance compny or govt bureaucrat gets in between you and the care that you need. And this will happen without adding to the deficit in the next ten years and we will do this by cutting out the waste and insurance company giveaways etc."

"Now before I start taking questions there has been a long and vigorous debate about this. Thats how it should be. Thats what America is about, that's why we have democracy. But I do hope we talk with each other and not over each other. Because one of the objectives of democracy and debate is that we start refining our own views because others have perspectives or ideas that we hadn't thought of before. But let's agree that we when we disagree lets disagree on things that are real not these wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to things that have actually been proposed."

"The way politics works sometimes is that people who want to keep things the way they are, will want to scare the heck out of folks. They will create bogymen out there that just aren't real. So this is an important and complicated issue that deserves serious debate and we have months to go before were done and years to faze in all these reforms and get them right."

• Um last time I checked both sides of the aisle had a fair hand in creating fear and slandering the oppositions views. Sarah Palin and her views have been assassinated in the media by the liberal.
  

"And I know this, despite all the hand-wringing pundits and the best efforts of those that are profiting form the status quo, We are closer to achieving health insurance reform than we have ever been before."

"We have the American Nurses Association supporting us. We have the American Medical Association on board. America's Doctors and Nurse know first hand how bad we need reform. We have broad agreement in Congress on about 80% of what we are trying to do. We have an agreement from the drug companies to make drugs more affordable for seniors. We can cut the donuts hole in half if we can pass reform. We have AARP on board because they know its a good deal for there seniors."

• I love how he said he had AARP on board because just last night David Cerner, AARP Legislative Policy's Director said on the O'Reily Factor the AARP rejected the idea that AARP and the Government was aligned.

"But lets face it, now is the hard part, because history is clear. Every time we come close to passing health insurance reform the special interest groups fight back with everything they got. They use their influence and political allies to scare and mislead the American people, they start running ads, this is what they always do. We can't let them do it again. Not this time. Not now. Because for all the scare tactics out there, what is truly scary, what is truly risky is if we do nothing."

"If we let this fall in the past, if we keep the system the way it is right now we will continue to see 14,000 Americans lose their health insurance every day. Your premiums will continue to sky rocket. They have gone up 3 times faster than your wages and they will continue to go up. Our deficit will continue to grow because medicare and medicaid are on an unsustainable path. Medicare is slated to go into the red in about 8-10 years. I don't know if people are aware of that. If I was a senior citizen the thing I'd be worried about right now is Medicare starts running out of money, because we haven't done anything to make sure that were getting a good bang for our buck when it comes to health care. And insurance companies will continue to profit by discriminating against people for the simple crime of being sick."

"Now that is not a future I want for my children its not a future I want for the United States of America...some of you voted for me and some of you didn't, but here is one thing I gotta say, I never said this was going to be easy, I never said change was going to be easy. If it were easy it would have already been done. Change is hard. And it doesnt start in Washington, it begins in places like Portsmouth. With people like Laurie, who have the courgae to share their stories and fight for something better that's what we need to do right now and I need your help if you want a health care system that works for the American people. As well as it working for the insurance companies. I need your help knocking on doors, talking to neighbors, spread the facts. Lets get this done. Thank you

Rassumusen:
68% of American's with health insurance rate their coverages as Good/Excellent
53% of Americans now oppose Health Care Reform while 42% favor.

• I have to admit and give Obama props for his speeches. He certainly knows how to deliver a well read speech and his cadence is certainly appealing. I once saw a body language expert talk about the way politician deliver speeches and they compared Obama with a fire and brimstone preacher.
• This is definitely not a cross section of the American people. Tickets were passed out by politicians. The audience is incredibly tame and the questions are softball pro-health care reform questions.
• 
  

Fox Flashback: Aug 10th (Glenn)

Highlights from the Glenn Beck Show

Make a Difference! Call the House, Senate and White House to demand...
- read the bill before they make a decision
- tell you where they stand on the bill

Rules for Calling the Government according to Glenn Beck:

- Be Polite
- Have respect for the office
- Demand answers

House and Senate Switchboard
202-224-3121

White House Switchboard
202-456-1414

Question Beck poses for White House...
- Is it Un-American to speak out at townhall meetings? do you agree with that?
- Will you speak out against the violence from ACORN and SEIU?
- Do we have a right to be frustrated with how fast Washington is moving?



Facts Courtesy of Michelle Malkin, author of Culture of Corruption:

• SEIU is 1.8 million members and they have coerced dues that are poured into democrate campaigns
• Andy Stern, SEIU boss, bragged that 80 million dollars went to dem and independent expenditure and ultimately Obama campaign treasury
• Stern said, "We prefer to use the power of persuation but if that doesnt work we will use the persuasion of power"
• SEIU is the organization that, along with ACORN, has been called upon to attend the town hall meetings. They are also the oragnization that beat up the conservative black man in St. Louis.
  
• They wear purple shirts, be aware of them at meetings. They have a history of violence .
• Andy Stern on Twitter: "SEIU hosted over 700 Healthcare meetings that had thoughtful exhanges prior to the arrival of Anti-American-Shut-em down Crowd." Aug 8th @ 9:42 pm

• Katherine Sebelius Health and Human Services Secretary reportedly had a conference call with SEIU this past week. We can only think the White House is silently endorsing these actions by not condemning the violence
• SEIU memos tel there members to "Drown them out" during the debates. Where is the condemnation from Pelosi etc. about that being un-American?
  

Glenn Beck Diagram

Socialism
ACORN
partisan Politics
Easy Money
No Responsibility
No Blame
Level Playing Field

Consequences
Hard Work
Effort
Self Reliance
Honesty
Fetal Position
Great Rewards
Freedom

Which side of the fence are you on?

• Use your Head...One of the sections of the health care reform bill will provide better access to people who dont speak english. This will be accomplished through community organizers. It also pays for a study, for a 3 year grant to research this issue. $500,000 will be spent in this grant and the preference for this grant will to go community organizations that have experience in this field...Hmmmm I wonder who that could be????
  

Glenn referenced a term that I didn't understand so I looked it up...check this out! I had never heard of this but it sounds like exactly whats going on.
Clower-Piven Strategy = Strategy for forcing political change through orchestrated crisis

• Bad News Friday, the bad news always come on Fridays so it gets buried during the weekend. On Friday the 7th Tim Gietner asked Congress for the 12.1 Trillion debt ceiling to be raised. He called it critically important that Congress acts before the debt ceiling is reached. All this so debtors around the world can be confident that americans will always be confident in American stabilty

• GE is having to settle a fraud settlement for 50 million. The Securities and Exchange Commission said GE used improper accounting methods to boost reported earning. The SEC said that GE bent the accounting rules beyond the breaking point...technically breaking the rules is breaking the rules right? However this is a civil suit so they didnt need to admit or deny the allegations. Maybe we can ask the CEO of GE, who is also on the Economic Advisory board for Obama.

• The White House has created a website to talk about all the crazy rumors that are floating around out there. Now, rational lets say company GF was being questioned on a new product. Would you go to GF website to find out the answers? Or would you go to another source for your answer? Good thinking White House.

• There is a bipartisan effort by Senators to intoduced a Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act that will ban the creation of animal human hybrids. Glenn agreed that Senators finally had a bill on the table he could agree on.
  

Um yeah I would proabbly agree with that too Glenn!

SEIU made a video about stoppping the violence at health care townhalls, HA!

.................................................................................................................

"We are going to make it. It is going to be ugly, it is going to be brutal, but we are going to make it and the reason why awe are going to make it is because of people like you....We have to make our choice now before we are put in tough situations, before we don't know what decision to make.-Glenn Beck

3 principles to hold on to according to Glenn Beck...

Question with boldness
Hold onto the truth
Speak without fear

Miami Townhall: Aug 13th

UPDATE:
Apparently Senator Nelson is out of the country but there will be a Pro-Health Care Protest outside his office at the same time/location/date! It is still important to show up in numbers to voice our opinions

..................................................................................................................

I have to say thank you to South Florida Conservative for sending this alert! This is not some master plan by the RNC to disrupt town hall meetings but a sincere expression of concern by everyday citizens.

..................................................................................................................

THIS IS AN IMMEDIATE CALL TO ACTION..!

Thanks to Mireya for this tidbit.

Bill Nelson will have a town hall meeting (no advertisement about it, eh) on Thursday, August 13th at 4:00 pm at his Coral Gables office. The address is:

2925 Salzedo St
Coral Gables, Fl 33134
ph (305) 536-5999

The real mob (ACORN, SEIU) will be there. WE MUST SHOW UP IN NUMBERS..! Even if we do not gt a chance to go inside where Senator Nelson will hold the townhall, we must show our numbers and show the local media (which will be in attendance looking for bad behavior...from conservatives) that ObamaCare is not supported and must not become the law of the land under any guise or circumstance. I call upon all conservatives to flood the office and surrounding areas with your posters (please on message and respectful).

Until Thursday, let's call Senator Nelson's office and let him know how his constituents actually feel. Ring the phone off the hook with intelligent, respectful objections to ObamaCare.

If you do make it into the Townhall, here are some helpful questions you may consider asking:

Can you promise I will not lose my current health plan and doctor?
Can you promise Senators and Congressmen, as well as their families, will enroll in the same public plan we will have?
Can you promise Obama's healthcare will not lead to higher deficits?
Can you promise government bureaucrats will not ration care, especially seniors and those seriously ill?
Can you promise our tax dollars will not fund abortions?

Let us show the local and national media, Senator Nelson and especially "Queen Pelosi" and all who doubt our authenticity and sincerity, that we:

We Are Grassroots..!
not astroturf...

Fox Flashback: August 10th (Hannity and O'Reily)

Here are some highlights from The O'Reily Factor and Hannity

The O'Reily Factor

It is undeniable that people are staring to realize that most of the media aka CNN, MSNBC, NBC, etc are extremely liberal and totally biased. Fox news has gained a tremendous amount of support from conservatives in the past but it seems that moderates and perhaps, dare I say it, some liberals are starting to realize the hazards of a government influenced biased media source.

Factor Victory
8 PM Time Slot
August 6, 2009

Margin of Victory:
CNN 380%
MSNBC 247%
Headline News 299%

I was wondering why CNN had such a large margin of victory. While MSNBC, which I consider the most liberal and biased stations of all, had a smaller margin. After some consideration however I realize that the extreme liberals watch MSNBC and must still consider FOX the conservative biased network. While CNN attracted more moderate viewer. This is a nice realization that more Americans seem to be moderate perhaps.

The O'Reily Factor, Total Audience August 6, 2009 = 5.4 million CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, Avg Audience July 2009 = 5.368 Million

Glenn Beck (5 pm), Shepard Smith (6 pm), Greta van Susteren (10 pm) and the Factor (8 pm) beat all four competitors combined.

• Dan Rather says that Obama needs to clean up the media. He wants a presidential panel to monitor the news and come up with solutions.

This is absolutely insane to me! Well, it really is not because Dan Rather is incredibly liberal but it is insane to think that the government should be regulating the media.

Let me ask you a questions? It illegal to smoke marijuana but people do it anyways right? Even if you don't agree that it should be illegal, is smoking pot still the wrong thing to do? If you didn't answer YES then maybe your hiding your bowl right now...

So lets play the rational game here. The government is already controlling the media in so many respects, just take a look at the media coverage for the 2008 election. There are those out there that believe the government should control the media, why? Because it benifits thier viewpoints. But just because those things are happeneing doesn't mean its right. (Nothing about that is "right"!)

• Bernie Goldberg author of the book "A slobbering Love Affair" claiming that word of mouth is why fox is growing. "views should be repected in the media even if its not being reflected"
  

As a guest today Bill had David Cerner, AARP Legislative Policys Director.

• O'Reily first showed the youtube video of the AARP meeting where the representatives left (reference the youtube videos on lower left hand corner)
• He then asked Cerner the questions about the memo that Nancy Pelosi drafted saying that AARP was partnering to sponser the bill. Cerner wouldn't comment on a memo citing ignorance and calling the letters existence into question. . "I don't believe that memo every came out" then later "as I understand that was a draft memo and when the final memo came out AARP was not included in that memo. Cerner simply kept repeating that they work with both sides of the asile.
• O'Reily proceeded to present the information that Barry Rand, AARP's CEO gave Obama 9 million dollars.
• Cerner on rationing of care: We would reject that idea. We would not support a system where there is a government take over. There should be choices between public and private.

Bill really seemed to be putting the pressure on this man to veer away from the talking points and give him a straight answer.

• University of Oregon- Liberal Professors outnumber Conservative Professors 14 to 1
• Woman in Oregon walks around naked and Police say there is nothing illegal about that.
  

IMPORTANT FACT: In Oregon there is a state run health care system. In 2006 Barbara Wagner, a 64 yr old universal health care recipient was diagnosed with lung cancer. She was refused the drug she needed for treatment because it was too expensive and was instead offered the $50 euthanasia option, also legal in Oregon. Barbara Wagner died from lung cancer.

"The bottom line in Health Care Reform is the bottom line"

• On one of NBC News shows a commentator talks about "right wing gun clinging Americans"- "There is a whole public out there stocked up on ammunition because they were afraid it would be taken away from them. I want to see what Fox News and Glenn Beck would say the day after one of those people go out and hurts the President or Congress"

Really! I would like to see what NBC would have said if someone goes out there and hurts Sarah Palin. Would they be responsible for increasing the liberal public hate for her.

• Palin talks about death panels and grandparents and trig being put to back of line
• Howard Dean- euthanasia is not in this bill
• Cynthia tucker Atlanta Journal Constitution: "45-46% of people appearing at these townhalls are people that would be never be happy with a black president"
  

WSJ reporting that Illegal Aliens will be reported and considered the same as us citizens in census. meaning that there will be more reps in the border towns.


.......................................................................................................


Hannity

Health Care Townhall Meeting Videos

John Dingell, Aug 6th ,Michigan
Tom Harkin , Aug 8th, Des Moines, IA

At this point Obamcare protesters have been called...

• un-American
• Nazi sympathizers
• Tim Mcvey sympathizers
• Organized Mobsters
• Brown Shirts
• Political Terrorist
  

"Drowning out opposing views is simply un-american"-Pelosi

• Dick Morris commenting on Health Care Reform Townhall Meeting (paraphrasing) "These old people are not the 18 year olds we saw during Carter. These are people that had to get up with their canes and make an effort to protest. I think they will try to ram this down the Americans throat with the 50 throats but if you can get all of these red state dem to see red then we have a chance. there is a chance if they are seeing the elderly turn to an anti-Obama group they will not push this through."
  

• Forbes.com estimates that the actual number of jobs lost last month is closer to 600,000 as opposed to 200,000 that Obama cited. This is due to the fact that in the summer months jobs are added.
  
• People who stopped looking for jobs were taken out of the unemplyment numbers, these people are called the discouraged unemployed.
• Unemployment in the ages 16-19 is at 23%.
• The deficit grew by 189 billion in July. Now the White House is asking Congress to increase debt limits.
• China holds 800 billion in US bonds

• Hannity had J Mark Campbell, cameraman from the Thursday, Tampa, townhall meeting where Union workers worked as security guards outside the doors and proheathcare constituents were set up in the front of the auditorium.

Great American Panel...
on Townhall Meetings

• People are ignorant to think that people just go there. They were called down and organized. You would pick the most compassionate people as well.
• This health care system is collapsing under its own weight!
• This is about control- government jumping in and taking control of individual lives and people do not want to let them

One word for Bob Beckle- bull. You are full of it! I am an American that has never been contacted by any organization. I would attend one of these meeting the minute I find out about one. The minute that one of my Senators decides that he has the nerve to face his employers and take the heat. And we all know there is plenty of heat in Florida.

On the 500 million they want to spend on airplanes...

• Congress approval rating 30% and they wonder why?
  
• Bob Beckle says its bad timing and should be taken off the table and it will be forgotten by next week

On what we gave to N.Korea for the two journalist...

• Now the US admin will hold talks with N.Korea.
  
• Kim Jun is sick and trying to give his son the government and will use the US talks as a confirmation of his power.
  
• Bob Beckle blames the Bush administration for not doing anything before
• Others on panel say that Obama admin must take responsibility for what is going on now...and stop looking to the past.
  

Chick Chat: Thoughts on Different Topics

Lets start the day off with some statistics...ahh the sweet sound of dropping poll numbers for the Obama/Pelosi/Reid administration. The great pleasure I derive from this stems not from seeing them fail, but seeing a possibility of hope for this country.

Not change, but hope that we wont get ourselves so deeply into the socialist agenda that we can't crawl our way our during my lifetime.

According to Rasmussen...

"The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Polls for Saturday shows that 33% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. 38% Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -5"

"71% of U.S. voters say President Obama's policies have increased the size of the federal deficit"

"54% of Americans oppose any further funding of the federal 'cash for clunkers' program"

..................................................................................

Sonia Sotomayor was just confirmed and I can't begin to say how much I could care less that she is a Hispanic woman. It is so frustrating that people keep getting these important and influential jobs simply because they are yellow, blue, green, Martians, Atlantis Merpeople. Who said that being politically correct was more important than picking the BEST person for the job?? Whoever that person is should be locked away in a solitary room where their crazy jabbering can't affect this country anymore!



Regardless of what Sotomayors views are, I just find it utterly ridiculous that she was appointed because it was the politically correct thing to do---Washington doesn't do anything else that is 'politically' correct.

I am going to say now, I just hope that the next time Obama gets to appoint a Supreme Court Justice, the Republicans have enough power to do something about it.

Sidenote: Did you know Sotomayor is NOT the first Hispanic nominated for the position? Bush nominated a Hispanic, Miguel Estrada, and he was butchered by the liberals.

..................................................................................


On to my favorite topic lately- health care reform. I was reading an article about Senior Citizens and Health Care Reform and it is frightening how these little hidden provisions could seriously alter the lives of so many Americans. Lets face it, the baby boomers are upon us and the health care costs are going to be astronomical. So here is an easy solution, lets just not.

Not care for the sick, not worry about trying to prolong the lives of those that can't be useful to society because, well, darn we won't miss them a whole lot anyways. Whether they die in 5 years of 5 days it doesn't make a huge difference they are dying anyways.

Now this is obviously an extreme point of view and I am being beyond sarcastic to make the simple point that-- No we cannot decide for anyone, regardless of age, what their medical care will look like. There is a provision in the health care bill for "end-of-life consultations"! They are claiming this is a financial move because those those who discuss there end of life options apparenlty spend less in the hospital. Now I'm wondering, do they spend less because they fight less? Does talking about your end of life options resign you to die? A Harvard study quoted a $1100 savings per final week of life for those patients that had these conversations and that they "typically did not live longer if they received intensive care."



What I want to know is, if you had a loved one dying in the hospital, wouldn't you want them to fight for every single moment? Those last moments are often the most terrible and yet loving minutes of the process, but they are the moments that you never forget...if you can claim them. I would like to claim those moments when my parents are leaving me, and no government organization should take those away from me. I would pay $11,000 for a moment to say goodbye.

Apathy wont get you those moments. Take the time to go to the Townhall meetings. Use 30 minutes of every day reading articles, listening to the radio or watching the news.

Here are pdf of the townhall meetings taking place in a city near you!
Democrate
GOP --Currently not working!


..................................................................................

Obama is claiming that the worst is behind us and that he has saved the US economy (and he is trying to use that as selling point for health care--beware!!) but that is simply not true. If you look at unemployment it seems to simply have steadied. Instead of loosing 443,000 jobs we lost 247,000 jobs. Well isnt that dandy! Unemployment also seems to have dropped. YAY! Rejoice! Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

...hold on a second.

Lets talk for a moment about those statistics. Just because less people are loosing their jobs doesn't mean that they are in any less trouble. Unemployment percentages are dropping because people have either stopped looking for jobs or are working part time or have been unemployed for so long that they are no longer able to collect unemployment.

Now I don't understand real well how all that works but I do know there are some serious flaws with the way they count all these things. Take me for example. Recent college graduate who hasn
t been able to find steady work for a year. Am I included in statistics? Of course not!

There are so many who are not accounted for that of course it seems like that the economy is "stabilizing". Because they are ignoring the real problem and instead trying to put us, I should say, he is trying to put himself in a position of savior!

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Articles of the Day:
Efforts by nations drugmakers could dwarf attempts to derail ObamaCare
Obama tells Economic Critics to "Get Out of the Way"
Obama: 'Worst May be Behind Us'